The Mind of Teddy Lupin
by JetLaBarge
Summary: Part of my Almost Happily Ever After series, the end of Bad Guys and Broomsticks and the beginning of The Birth of the Potter Children from Teddy Lupin's point of view. There are more chapters in the works, but not until Teddy is a teen
1. Chapter 1

The Mind of Teddy Lupin

CH 1 "Teddy at 5"

Teddy Lupin from 5 to 6

_Takes place in the universe of my story __Almost Happily Ever After. _

_The title is a tribute of sorts to Northumbrian, in my view the best author of Canon Harry Potter Fan Fiction on this or any site. Check out his The Mind of Arthur Weasley. Again thanks to FriendofMolly, my beta, for her contributions._

* * *

My name is Teddy Lupin, and I'm 5 years old. I'm pretty happy, but I'm different. No five year old really likes being different. They call me the oldest of the cousins. I don't mind being the oldest, but I'm not really a cousin. I do not mind that I can change my hair color. That's kind of fun. I can change my face sometimes too, but Victoire does not like it when I do so I do not do it very often.

Victoire is my favorite cousin. She lives with her mummy and daddy… that's something else different about me. My mummy and daddy are dead. I'm not really sure what that means, but I can not remember them. They are somewhere, but I've never been there. I do not really understand what they are talking about.

I live with two grandmothers and a grandfather. Grandmum Andromeda is my real grandmother, but they tell me she is fragile. She does not break like when you drop something on the floor, but she seems real sad lots of the time. Sometimes she has to go to St. Mungo's to get better. I know she loves me.

Grandmum and Grandpa Weasley are the others. I live at their house, the New Burrow. They tell me that the old Burrow was destroyed about the time of the Battle of Hogwarts. My mummy and daddy were killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, and Uncle Fred Weasley was also killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, and that makes all of the grown ups sad. I know being killed is not good. And Grandmum and Grandma Weasley are not really grandparents, but they are, because they love me and take care of me, most of the time.

I do have a mummy and daddy, but they are not my REAL mummy and daddy. They are my godmother and godfather, Daddy Harry and Mummy Ginny. Daddy Harry is some kind of big hero, because he has a book written about him, **The Boy Who Lived, The Hero of Hogwarts**. Daddy Harry picks me up Friday night or Saturday morning, and we go to Quidditch games. Mummy Ginny is a chaser for the Harpies, and she is a good flyer. I like seeing her fly. She makes lots of points. She and Donna Lionheart are the best chasers in all of Quidditch. When the game is over Mummy Ginny comes home with us, and we stay at their house until Sunday night or Monday morning. I like it having a mummy and daddy, even if they are not my real mummy and daddy, and even if I don't live with them most of the time.

I have lots of cousins. Well, they are not real cousins, but they are sort of like cousins. Freddy is the oldest. Sometimes they call him Freddy and sometimes they call him Fred. His Daddy is Uncle George Weasley, and his mother is Aunt Angelina Weasley. They own a store, and it is real fun going into their store. All the cousins are Weasleys'. Fred is just a year younger than me. I like him, but he is pretty wild some times. He is usually fun to play with, but he is not my best friend because he is hard to talk to. He has a little sister Roxanne who is only two. It's hard to talk to a two year old.

Molly Weasley is named after Grandma Molly. Her daddy is Uncle Percy and her mummy is Aunt Audrey Weasley. Her daddy works for the Ministry of Magic. Her mummy helps teach us. Cousin Molly is real shy. She is smart enough but she does not talk much. She is only a couple of weeks older than Victoire, my favorite cousin. She has a sister Lucy who is even younger than Roxanne.

Victoire is my favorite. Her mummy Aunt Fleur Delacour Weasley is French, and she speaks French to us so we are all learning to talk in French as well as English. It's fun to talk to Victoire in French. She was born 2 years after the Battle of Hogwarts, on the same day that Daddy Harry won the battle of Hogwarts and Mummy and Daddy were killed and … lots of stuff happened. Even though Daddy Harry won the battle, thinking of it makes everybody kind of sad. Thinking about the battle makes me sad. Victoire's daddy is Uncle Bill. He is the oldest uncle and he has something to do with money.

Victoire is real pretty, and she talks a lot more than little Molly. She likes me and I like her. She is my favorite cousin. She has a little sister Dominique. Dominique is also pretty, but she is little.

Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry do not have any children. I think they want some. Their house is big enough for children. Uncle Ron Weasley and Aunt Hermione live right next door to Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry. They do not have any children either. I think Grandmother Molly wants them to have children. She really likes being a grandmother. Even though I'm not really her grandson, I feel like her grandson. I know she loves me.

Grandma and Grandpa Weasley live in a big house. They live downstairs on one side of the house, and Grandma Andromeda lives downstairs on the other side of the house. There are a lot of bedrooms upstairs, and I live upstairs. There are a lot of other houses around here. Most are new, but the Longbottom Mansion is old, and further away. Frank Longbottom is close to my age. His father is an Auror, and also works with plants at Hogwarts. He is named after his grandfather who is in St. Mungo's. His grandmother is also in St. Mungo's. Another grandmother is dead. There are a lot of sad stories. Sometimes I think that everyone I know has a sad story.

Frank's daddy is practicing with a big yellow machine. It is a Muggle machine but it has magic stuff on the front, and it makes a lot of noise and shoots flames and does a lot of other stuff that I do not understand.

* * *

It's Monday, September 8, 2003. Something big happened today. Grandpa Weasley came back home and said "Harry did it! Harry and his team did it!" Grandma and Grandpa Weasley seem happy. I'm not sure what will make Grandma Andromeda happy, although she is not sadder.

* * *

It's Thursday, and everybody is still happy. Tonight Grandpa Weasley was very happy they captured another person. They always whisper when they are talking about Werewolves. I know daddy was a werewolf, and some werewolves are real bad and others are good. They tell me that daddy was a good werewolf. I know that he was real poor. The photographs of him show him in clothes that are not very nice.

* * *

I cannot forget it. Grandpa Weasley came home and said "Violet Brown tried to committed suicide this morning. She said that she had not had a day since the Battle of Hogwarts when she did not hurt." Grandma said "Oh Arthur, when will it end!" They were both crying.

I don't know what suicide is, but it can not be good. I can not forget the words. Grandpa said that Daddy Harry was crying. I'm not sure if I have ever seen Daddy Harry cry. Daddy Harry is an Auror, and my mummy was an Auror. Auror's catch bad people and do good things. Maybe I'll be an Auror when I grow up.

* * *

Grandma and Grandma Weasley are taking me to Mummy Ginny's game today. Daddy Harry is going to be at the game later. I love seeing Mummy Ginny fly. She is so good.

NOOOOOO! The bludger hit Mummy Ginny in the head. We've got to go back to the New Burrow. What is going to happen!

Nobody is telling me anything. They are telling us that they do not know if Mummy Ginny will be all right. Everybody says she was hurt. I saw her get hurt.

* * *

I think it's been the longest week in my life. Grandma Andromeda is back at St. Mungo's. Grandma Molly has been there with Daddy Harry. Everybody is a little happier, because Mummy Ginny is awake. They tell me that Mummy Ginny is never going to play Quidditch again, but she should be all right. How can she be all right if she can not play Quidditch? I want to see her. Sometimes she kisses me when I get hurt, to make it feel better. I want to kiss her and make her better. Its hard being a little boy when something bad happens. No one tells you anything.

* * *

It's Sunday morning. Grandma Weasley told me that Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry are going to be here this morning. There she is! "Mummy Ginny, Mummy Ginny. You're going to be all right? Teddy so scared! Grandma Andromeda so scared she in St. Mungo's too."

I feel a little better. Mummy Ginny seems to be all right. She walks a little like the baby cousins but she talks all right and she says she will be all right. She is going to be back tomorrow. I wish she did not leave me alone. I like living with grandma and grandpa Weasley but I wish I had a mummy and daddy.

* * *

Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry are letting me go home with them tonight! I am going to live with a mummy and daddy. Maybe I will be a REAL boy with a real mummy and daddy. I am sorry Mummy Ginny got hurt but I am happy that she can be my mummy. Grandma Andromeda is still in St. Mungo's.

* * *

We are going to go to San Francisco in North America. I do not know where that is, but it is a long away. We will not be able to come back on Sunday. I told Victoire, and she is real unhappy. I am unhappy to be away from Victoire, but I want to go with Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry. REAL boys go with their real mummy and daddy. We are going to go after Christmas. We will be gone for almost half a year. I do not know how long it is, but it seems like a long time. Grandma Andromeda is also sort of sad that I will be gone for a long time, but she says that I should go.

* * *

I'm in school. Well it was sort of school around Grandmum and Grandpa Weasley's house. Usually in the morning you did some school work alone or with one other person, and in the afternoon people got together. There were older children who were in classrooms, but not very many. Here there are five or ten of us in a classroom with only one or two teachers. Usually the teachers are witches but there are a few wizards. Some of the people who help are real old, but most are like Mummy Ginny.

Mummy Ginny is helping to teach us. Sometimes she goes to school. I did not know that grown up witches and wizards go to school, but Mummy Ginny is learning how to write. She does a lot of writing at night while I play. Daddy Harry studies real hard. He is here going to school too. They both have what they call 'wizard laptops.' Mummy Ginny says "I'd use one of the newer quick quote quills but they remind me too much of…" I don't remember the name, but it is somebody Mummy Ginny does not like.

We talk to Victoire and everybody else every Sunday. Victoire is not happy I am gone. Sometimes we use a magic mirror so everybody can see everybody, and sometimes we use a telephone. Victoire is not very good at using the telephone.

I know Grandma Andromeda misses me. She usually smiles when she sees me. I feel sorry for her. She is so sad so often. I miss Grandma, but not enough to want to go back.

Daddy Harry and I go to fun places some weekends. We went to Disney Land and other fun places. We ride on fun rides, and eat strange food, and see lots of things. Mummy Ginny comes along, but since she got hurt she can not ride on the fast rides. Her stomach is upset. She says the food here does not agree with her, but I think she is sick.

* * *

Grandmum Tonks caught a bad guy? She was scared, but she was very brave! Grandma Tonks is being my REAL Grandmum. She teaches me while Mummy Ginny rests and does homework.

* * *

Mummy Ginny is getting fatter. Something is going on, but I do not know what it is. I hear Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry talk, but I do not always understand what they are talking about. What does pregnant mean? I think it is important and I think it is what Mummy Ginny has, but I do not know what it is. I asked Mummy once if pregnant was a good thing or a bad thing, and she said it was a very good thing, just the best, but that I was too young to understand. I do not like being too young to young to understand.

* * *

It's my birthday! I'm 6 years old! This is my first birthday that I can remember without lots of cousins around, but I'm still 6. We had a small party. Daddy Harry has to be gone a lot the next couple of months, to the Wize n gamma in May and then to the International Confed…something, in Swiss land, sometime in June. Mummy Ginny says we will be going to see lots of fun places while Daddy is gone.

* * *

Victoire came to visit me just after her birthday. She misses me. I really miss her. Some of the girls make fun of me because I like Victoire. I don't care! I was so happy she was here.

* * *

We had a vacation. We went all over America in a house on wheels. Daddy Harry says it is a good thing we went in the motor home because Mummy Ginny has to go to the bathroom all the time. She is getting bigger and bigger. It was a lot of fun, but we are going home tomorrow. We have been away a long long time. I am happy we are going home.

* * *

We came back to Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry's house. Mummy Ginny is going to have a baby boy. I will have a brother, sort of. He will be a god brother, not a bio-logical brother. I do not understand everything. I want to have a real mother and not a dead mother. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be here when Mummy Ginny has a baby. Grandma Andromeda is so sad. Maybe I need to stay with her. I wish I did not have to choose. It's hard being a six year old boy and having to choose. I had one bedroom and one mummy and daddy when we were in America. It is getting confusing again. I want one bedroom, but I want to have Mummy and Daddy and the Grandma's too.

Daddy Harry bought a car, and we are trying it out today. I wish I could see everybody today but Mummy and Daddy are waiting until Sunday morning to see everybody. It is hard to wait when you are 6 year old.

* * *

I'm home! I'm home! I saw everybody! Victoire was unhappy I was gone but happy I came back. We talked, just Victoire and me. I mostly talked and Victoire listened. Her mummy is going to have a baby boy too, so we will both have brothers. Victoire has a real mummy and daddy. I wish I could have a real mummy and daddy. Grandma Andromeda was so happy I was home. I kissed her before going to bed, and she cried and held me. I think I need to let her kiss me and kiss her every night. I think it was a good thing to do. I'm going to stay here because Grandma Andromeda needs me. I'll still see Mummy Ginny almost every day.

* * *

It's so boring eating dinner with Grandmum and Grandpa Weasley and Grandmum Andromeda. I think Grandma and Grandpa Weasley talk when I'm not around. I want to eat dinner with Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry. Maybe I can see Daddy Harry at dinner. I miss him. I need to learn how to floo to their house and back, so I can go there. Maybe one of the older boys around the New Burrow will help me.

* * *

I did it! I learned how to floo all by myself! Dick and Harry Appleleaf taught me how. We took the floo from their house to the New Burrow and back over and over. We took the floo to 12 Grimmauld Place, and the house elves met us and were a little mad until they knew who I was. I can do it all by myself!

Victoire wanted to know if I had to go to Daddy Harry and Mummy Ginny's house every night. She asked her mummy and daddy if I could eat dinner with them. I am going to go to Victoire's house on Friday. Maybe I can go to dinner with Victoire some Friday nights. I like Victoire's mummy and daddy. They like me too.

* * *

Victoire's mommy had a baby! He is a boy, Louis. He's not a little boy that you can play with. He is just a baby. Victoire's mummy feeds him. Victoire says only Mummies can nurse babies. Victoire wants to grow up and be a mummy and have babies and nurse babies and be real pretty. I think she is already real pretty, but she is kind of flat on top. Victoire's mummy is not flat on top, and Mummy Ginny is not either. Mummy Ginny is going to nurse her baby too. She says that is what mummies do. Mummy Ginny has not had her baby yet. She is real big in front, and says that it is hard to walk.

* * *

Mummy Ginny finally had her baby. He was late. People are real mad at me when I am late, but no one seems to be mad at James even though he was real late. James is also a boy but he is a baby too. I am going to be eating dinner with Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry and James on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, mostly except when they are busy. Some Fridays I eat dinner with Victoire and some Fridays everybody is busy and I eat at the New Burrow. It is kind of hard when your mummy and daddy are dead and your grandma is fragile, but I have a lot of people who love me.

* * *

Daddy Harry wants to show James to his mummy and daddy. His mummy and daddy are dead too. They are buried in the same place. I don't know what being buried means. They are put in boxes. I hope I can see them. Daddy Harry says you can talk to a dead person, but they don't answer back. I do not understand a lot about being dead. Daddy Harry says I can come with them and see my mummy and daddy. I've never been to a cemetery before. Maybe if I can go to the cemetery where my mummy and daddy are I can see them. I want to show Victoire my mummy and daddy. I like her mummy and daddy and I hope she likes my mummy and daddy.

We are going to see mummy and daddy! Victoire and her daddy are here, and we are going to the cemetery with Daddy Harry and Mummy Ginny and baby James.

It's just a big place with stones and names on them. Daddy Harry says the bodies are in boxes under the stones, but the people are not really there.

Mummy and daddy are there? Under the ground? Dead? Dead! I can not see them, just these stupid stones with their names on them. Dead? That's what dead is? I'm never going to see them, just these stupid stones. And I took Victoire to see my parents. This is so dumb. I might as well say something to mummy and daddy.

"I don't know if you can hear me, mummy, and daddy. I have good grandmas and Daddy Harry and Mummy Ginny are the best, but sometimes I wish I had a real mummy and daddy. I know you did the right thing and are heroes and all that. I'm happy you are heroes, but sometimes I would rather have a living mummy and daddy than dead heroes."

No one answered me. This was such a dumb idea. I need to say something to Victoire. "Your mummy and daddy are so nice, and I wanted you to meet mine. I think it was a stupid idea. I'm sorry."

Victoire is hugging me "Not stupid!' she's saying. " I sorry your mummy and daddy are dead."

I need to say something to Daddy Harry and Mummy Ginny. "Thank you for letting me come with you."

Oh my. "They're dead. They're not just gone, they're dead. Dead."

I should not be crying like this, but I can't help it. They are dead! Victoire is holding on to me. Her daddy is on the ground. I need to hug them. I need to hold them. This is so stupid. Victoire is saying, "Not stupid, Teddy. Not stupid."

Daddy Harry is saying something. "Remus, Tonks, I just want to say that Teddy is growing up to be a fine young man. He acts like the oldest of Arthur and Molly's grandchildren, responsible for the other grandchildren like they are his cousins. He is smart, polite, a joy to all. He is surrounded by love. Thank you for the gift of Teddy."

I hope mummy and daddy can hear Daddy Harry. But they're DEAD.

Victoire's daddy is saying something. "Teddy has adopted us as another family, and we love him like another son. Thank you for Teddy, Remus, and Tonks."

I love you, Victoire's daddy. I need you. I need Victoire. I need Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry because my mummy and daddy are DEAD. Dead. Dead.

* * *

It's Sunday. I think I cried from the time I saw that mummy and daddy were under the ground and I would never see them until I went to sleep. It's OK. Well, it's not OK, really, but there is nothing I can do about it.

Maybe I know why Grandma Andromeda is so sad all the time.

I need to be happy. I need to be happy for Victoire. She was named Victoire because there was a victory at the Battle of Hogwarts. If she is sad all the time it's not a victory. I need to be happy because mummy and daddy are dead and I am alive and I need to be happy for them because they are dead but I am not.

I need to be happy because Grandma Andromeda is so sad, but when I am happy she is happy sometimes, and when I am sad she is always sad.

Mummy and Daddy, if you can hear me, help me to be happy. Help me make Grandma Andromeda happy. Help me be a good cousin even though I'm not really a cousin.

Victoire wants to marry me and have lots of babies. I don't know about marrying her, but she is my favorite cousin. My life is pretty good. My mommy and daddy are dead, and Grandma Andromeda is fragile, but I guess I am happy.

I have to make my own way. I am the one who asked to live with Grandma Andromeda, because she needs me and I want to help her be better. I am the one who asked to have dinner with Mummy Ginny and Daddy Harry, and to have dinner with Victoire and her mommy and daddy.

I need to be a good boy, and a happy boy, and a smart boy. I will. I'm Teddy Lupin. I'm different, but I'll be OK, because people love me.

I'll be OK.

I'll be OK.

Mummy and daddy, if you can hear me, help me be OK.

Please!


	2. Teddy at Sixteen

Teddy at Sixteen

* * *

This is a companion piece to my "The Mind of Teddy Lupin" story.

* * *

It was the first Friday of November, two thousand and fourteen. Teddy was in his sixth year at Hogwarts. Victoire was in her fourth year, as was Rose Sprout. Teddy was leaving the dinner table, and Rose walked right up to Teddy saying "Teddy, we need to talk."

Teddy knew Rose Sprout. Well, everybody knew Rose. Her mother was, along with Professor Longbottom, Professor of Herbology, and Professor Sprout had lots of younger children, but Rose was the oldest. Rose was short and sort of round, although Teddy had to admit that a lot of the roundness was in nice places, top and bottom. No boy was ever shaped like Rose. She was popular, too. Rose knew the school as well as anyone, where hidden passageways were, and where you could hide and the professors would not find you. Rose also knew what you could get away with, and what could get you into trouble.

Teddy sat down at the Gryffindor table and said, "I'm listening."

"We need to talk privately!," Rose said.

"How privately?" Teddy asked.

"The Portrait Room is all right," Rose replied.

The Portrait Room was very near the main dining room. All around the outside were paintings of people killed in the long battle against Tom Riddle, including but not limited to the over fifty people killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. The paintings were on the wall, and in the middle was a large area of comfortable seating. It was an excellent place for couples or small groups to gather and talk, and sometimes snog, somewhat private but not totally private.

Teddy let Rose to the corner where portraits of his parents and Fred Weasley were hanging. "Closest I can get to hanging out with my parents," Teddy said. Because of the time between their deaths and the time the paintings were finished, these paintings had only a shadow of their owner's personalities, but there were times when talking to them was better than not having anyone to talk to.

Rose and Teddy sat down in comfortable chairs facing each other. "It's you and Victoire," said Rose. "If you are just a cousin to her you really need to let her date!"

"I'm not really a cousin," Teddy said. "At least we're not biologically related."

Rose said, "Well, you are treating her like a cousin, not like a girlfriend."

"Victoire seems just fine with our relationship the way it is now," protested Teddy.

"She's not, but she does not know how to tell you," insisted Rose. "Besides all the other girls in her class see the way she talks about you and looks at you. She wants to have BABIES with you someday. That's not a cousin, that's a girlfriend! That's at least a girlfriend, if not more."

"I'm trying to be an Auror," insisted Teddy. "I may be gone overseas for a while. When and if I get back we can get serious, but I don't want Victoire to think I'm going to settle down right after Hogwarts."

"Victoire knows what you want to do," Rose said. "All the other girls see lots of boys who would like to take her to the Christmas Ball. If you intend to get serious with Victoire, be her boyfriend, it is time to ask her to the ball as a boyfriend, not a cousin. If you want her to date others it's way past time you let someone else invite her to the ball. I can get a date for you if you don't know anyone else you want to ask, and that way other boys will feel free to invite Victoire."

"I could invite someone else myself," Teddy ruefully admitted. "It's just; well … it's just that I really don't want to invite someone else. It would be hard to see Victoire going out with someone else."

"Tell her that, then!" Rose insisted.

Teddy had to think about what he and Rose had been talking about. All evening Teddy tried to contemplate going out with other witches, but it didn't work. Before they went up to bed Teddy asked Victoire, "Do you want to have breakfast with me tomorrow morning?"

"Sure, Teddy," Victoire said with a smile. "Eight o'clock, right here?"

"That works," Teddy answered.

Teddy really did not want to ask anyone else out, he thought. It was good to be friends with other girls, and to go out in groups, but not to date them one on one! That night Teddy had a very hard time getting to sleep. He kept thinking of having babies with Victoire, about making babies, about what you did that sometimes made babies. Teddy thought Victoire was one of the prettiest girl in the school, and one of the nicest.

hr /

Saturday morning came too early. Teddy went to the loo and looked at the mirror. His hair was a normal color, and his face was his normal face. Teddy was just tired, and it showed. He had not had a good night's sleep, thinking about Victoire. About five minutes before eight Teddy was down in the Commons Room, and Victoire was waiting for him.

"Is something the matter, Teddy?" Victoire asked. Teddy thought that Victoire could usually tell what he was thinking, and if he was in a good mood or not. He could usually tell with Victoire too, and he could see that she was worried.

"Let's go to the portrait room, Victoire," Teddy said, and he led Victoire to the same place he was the previous night, a spot where he and Victoire had used to sit and talk before.

"Rose Sprout talked to me last night after dinner," Teddy said.

"I saw you go off with her," Victoire said. "Rose can be the classic interfering older sister, a bit of a busybody at times."

"You're an older sister, and the oldest cousin," Teddy said. "Are you describing Rose, or you, or both of you?"

"Grandma Weasley is the one with her nose in everybody's life," Victoire replied. "I'm a pale imitation of her."

"You're taking lessons, though!" Teddy exclaimed. "You even look like her."

"I'm fourteen, and she's an old lady," Victoire exclaimed. "I don't look like her. She's sort of fat. Look at my waist. It's thin!"

"Look at your hair, Victoire" Teddy said.

Victoire looked at a strand of her long hair. Over seventy five percent of it was various shades of deep reddish brown, a really pretty color and lighter than darker, not orange but much more dark red or brown with red highlights. The rest was various shades of medium to dark blond, much darker and thicker than the light blond hair of her mother and sister.

"You're a lot bigger on top and bottom than your mother or sister too," Teddy said.

,

Victoire kind of looked at her bust line, sort of measuring it with her hands. "Only three or four centimeters bigger," she said. Teddy looked at her intently.

"Maybe only four or five centimeters bigger?" Victoire questioned. Fleur had a beautiful bust line, and she was not small, but neither was she extraordinarily large. Victoire had passed into the voluptuous territory, not insanely large but definitely BIG.

Teddy looked down at Victoire's hips. The situation there was the same; Fleur had nice ample hips, not small but not extraordinarily large either.

"Maybe six or eight centimeters bigger?" Victoire questioned. Teddy kept looking. "Maybe ten?" Victoire said.

Teddy said, "Your mother" and waved his hands in the classic feminine hour glass shape, with a modest hour glass. "You," he said as he exaggerated the bust and hips. "You are a beautiful cross between Grandma Weasley and a Veela."

"Is that what you and Rose talked about, my shape?" asked Victoire.

"No, about you dating, and me dating," Teddy replied. "And if we are dating, and if we are not that we ought to be dating other people."

"She IS a busybody," Victoire said. "It's NOT HER CONCERN."

"I want to be an Auror, Victoire," Teddy said. "I want to serve some time overseas to prove myself, and may even be under cover for a year or two. What if something happens to me?"

"Like what?" asked Victoire?

"Like I come back missing body parts, ugly, hard to look at," Teddy said.

"Have anyone ever told you the story of when my father had his face shredded?" asked Victoire. "Not the battle, but afterwards. Mum and Dad were engaged, but not yet married."

"I know about the battle. What else?" asked Teddy?

"Grandmum Weasley did not like Mum. Too high class nose stuck up in the air, thinking she was better than the poor Weasley family," Victoire said. "You've seen pictures of the old Burrow. Grandmum and Grandpa Weasley were really poor, and Mum was rich and beautiful."

"I sort of knew that," Teddy said. "My Dad was poor too, and my Mum."

"Well, when Dad's face was shredded, Grandmum assumed that the wedding would be off. Why would my Mum want to marry a man that had gone from being very good looking to really pretty ugly, pretty hard to look at. Grandmum was putting lotion on Dad, and Mum took over because Dad was going to be her husband, and Grandmum said something, I don't know what it was, but when Grandmum told me she said that she though Mum would not want to marry Dad because Dad was no longer handsome. And Mum said she would just have to be pretty enough for both of them, because she was still going to marry Dad. And from that day on Mum and Grandmum became friends. That is when Mum felt she became part of the family, not at the marriage ceremony, but when she tended Dad's shredded face and announced that she still loved him."

Victoire took Teddy's two hands in her two hands, and looked at him hard for what seemed like a long time. Teddy could not speak; he knew what Victoire was going to say. Finally Victoire said, "I hope you can have a fantastically successful time in the International Aurors, and learn a lot, and help our world become a better place. If you can come back all in one piece that is all the better; I really hope you do. But if I am lucky enough to have you back, even if you are in worse shape than my Dad, it doesn't matter. You should know that. I've told you that before. I love you, and I really don't want to play around going to dances and holding hands and kissing other boys."

"What if I'm killed?" asked Teddy.

"Then it will be time for me to look for someone else," Victoire said. "But Teddy, only then. Meanwhile if you come back ugly I will just have to be pretty enough for both of us, just like my mother."

Teddy and Victoire just sat there looking at each other for quite a while, each waiting for the other one to speak. Finally Teddy said, "I would like to invite my girlfriend to the Christmas Ball, instead of my sort of cousin. Victoire, would you go to the Christmas Ball with me? Don't say anything. Kiss me or walk away."

Victoire leaned over to Teddy and gave him a light but lingering kiss. Teddy looked at the portraits of his parents and Uncle Fred. His mother and father had moved into one of the frames, and were holding hands. "We approve," they said in unison.

"Good show, Teddy," Fred said. "Kissing the prettiest girl in the school. Good show!"

Teddy pulled Victoire close to him, and she gladly snuggled against him. Their lips met, and pressed hard against each other. Mouths opened and tongues found each other, and for the first time Teddy and Victoire didn't just kiss, they snogged. They only came up from air when another couple walked by.

Teddy and Victoire walked to breakfast holding hands.

Rose Sprout noticed, and thought to herself 'job well done. … Again.'

hr /

It was Saturday morning; a week after Teddy and Victoire had agreed that they were going to be boyfriend and girlfriend, and not just 'cousins.' Teddy thought as he came downstairs to meet Victoire for breakfast and dancing lessons that it was little more complicated that he thought it would be. Easier to entertain thoughts of he and Victoire naked in bed together doing what husbands and wives do, making babies, or at least enjoying each other's bodies. Harder to have casual contact. Harder not to have Victoire touching him.

Merlin what a sexy body! What a beautiful smile. Willing to wait for him! How did he get so lucky?

"Hi Victoire," Teddy said grinning at her.

"Hi Teddy," Victoire answered back, with a big beautiful 'happy to see you' smile on her face. There was always the hint of reserve in Aunt Fleur, and Dominique. Victoire was like Grandma Weasley, no reserve when it came to the ones they loved.

Fast dancing was about the same, but slow dancing, especially really slow hold your partner close dancing, was different, Teddy thought. Something about the way she rubbed her bosom against his chest, something about the way she held him, that was definitely not cousins dancing.

Oops! Teddy stumbled. They almost fell on the floor.

"Teddy," Victoire whispered. "What were you thinking? Keep your mind on your dancing."

Teddy's face had gotten red, and Victoire saw the hair color that usually meant that Teddy was embarrassed. Victoire grabbed Teddy close and whispered, "What WERE you thinking about, Teddy Lupin?"

"You," Teddy said.

"What about me?" asked Victoire, grinning and pressing harder against Teddy.

"Making babies," Teddy whispered. "What you do to make babies, and how sexy you feel rubbing against me."

They had stopped dancing and were looking at each other. "I'm glad we are not cousins," Victoire said. "We need to talk after dancing class, private, real private."

Teddy did his best to keep his mind on the dancing for the next half hour as the dancing classes finished. When they were done Victoire and Teddy's hands sort of naturally went towards each other, and they left the room hand in hand.

"You must know of some really private rooms, Teddy," Victoire whispered, a sneaky look in her face. "You've been mapping the school."

"Want to see the rooms Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny stayed in when Aunt Ginny was in her last year at Hogwarts?" Teddy asked, smirking.

"I thought they were real hard to get into?" Victoire asked.

"They are, but Uncle Harry and Albus have helped me find all sorts of secret rooms, and get in them," Teddy said.

"Albus doesn't go to school until the year after next, a year and a half," Victoire said. "What does he know?"

"A lot. I probably should not say too much. Albus has really worked hard learning whatever his father is willing to teach him," Teddy answered. By this time they had gotten to the floor that the entrance to Gryffindor Tower was on, and Teddy went a little beyond the entrance and around a turn in the corridor. He waved his wand next to a wall, and suddenly a door appeared. Teddy opened the door and showed Victoire in.

They were in a hallway. "That way leads to the Gryffindor common room," said Teddy pointing. "These rooms," pointing to a study and a bedroom beyond, "are where Professor and Mrs. Longbottom and stayed the same year Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were here. This is the common kitchen, pretty small. And here," going through a door at the end of the hall, "is where Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny stayed."

They walked into the bedroom. "It's private enough for you?" Teddy asked.

Victoire pulled Teddy into herself and gave him a big kiss. Teddy returned the kiss, and they spent several minutes deepening the kisses. Finally they broke apart.

Teddy took a big breath, and looked around the room, thinking, 'Merlin would it be easy to, to, to … Teddy, you should not even be thinking in that direction!'

"Victoire, we're going to have to wait until you are out of Hogwarts, two and a half years, almost three years away," Teddy said.

"Wait for what?" asked Victoire.

"Making babies," Teddy said. "Doing the baby making thing. Sex."

"Not sex like kissing and rubbing up against each other and making each other feel real good," Victoire said cautiously.

"No, I guess not," Teddy answered. "Sex, like getting naked and doing the stuff that makes babies."

"You don't want to do that?" asked Victoire.

"Oh, I really want to do that, and," Teddy looked a little sheepish, "something in me is saying 'you know this really is a hidden room, and you could get away with it' or maybe 'you could get away with it after learning some birth control spells' or," Teddy looked at Victoire with a horrified look on his face, "what would happen if you told your mother you needed birth control potions so Teddy didn't get you pregnant?"

"Oh," said Victoire, sitting down on the bed. "Oh, Oh, Problem!"

"Victoire, I really don't think we should have sex, not sex like kissing and hugging but like making babies sex, until I'm back from the Foreign Aurors," Teddy pleaded, sitting down next to Victoire.

"But as long as we keep our clothes on we can play," Victoire retorted playfully, rolling onto the bed, stretching her body out in a way that was just unbelievably sexy.

"As long as we keep our clothes on," Teddy said, as he proceeded to roll onto the bed himself.

Victoire was the first girl down the stairs, bouncing excitedly. The Christmas dress sort of looked like last year, but Teddy thought it had straps last year, and it showed a lot less bust. Well, the last twelve months Victoire had gone from nicely curvy, about as big as her mother, to really busty, and plenty of the bust was showing.

Victoire twirled around, showing off the dress. She was bigger around on the bottom too, really curvy all over.

Victoire said, "I had the Middy twins alter the dress. I've gotten bigger, and I wanted to show off."

"I like it," Teddy said. He was a little concerned about Victoire's parents, though.

Harry and Ginny always went to the Hogwarts Christmas Ball as chaperons, as did Bill and Fleur. From her first year at Hogwarts Victoire went to every dance with Teddy, but they made it obvious that they were just going as cousins.

This year Teddy and Victoire were among the first to enter the great hall. They went right over to Bill and Fleur, and Ginny whispered to Harry, "Something is going on between those two."

Teddy cleared his throat, and then said, "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sir, Mam." This was unusual; he always called them Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. "Victoire has always been my best friend, but, well, it is like this." He looked to Victoire for support. She squeezed his hand. "Well, Rose Sprout talked to me …"

Victoire stared at Teddy and said, "It's NOT about Rose Sprout, it's about US."

Teddy said, "It is just that if I want to be an Auror and go on an overseas assignment, Victoire might have to wait and wait, and I'm just worried that maybe something will happen to me while I am on assignment, and that wouldn't be fair to her, and, but, …" Teddy turned to Victoire again, and said, "Torie …"

Victoire said, "Teddy is worried that he may be hurt if he is in the International Aurors. He may not be as pretty as he is now, or something else may happen. And I told Teddy about how, after Daddy had his face shredded, Grandmother Molly did not think Mum would want to marry Daddy, but Mum said she would just have to be pretty enough for both of you. I told Teddy that if he comes back to me I would just have to be pretty enough for both of us, and I didn't care what would happen to him in the International Aurors."

"We are not engaged, or anything like that," Teddy said, "but I did let everyone know that I was inviting my girlfriend, my one special girlfriend, to the Christmas Ball this year."

"And I made it clear to everyone that I was not in the market for another boyfriend, because my best friend in all the world was my boyfriend now…, too,,,, as well…, so there," Victoire said.

"I am so grateful for your mother," Bill said. "I often marvel at us, the prettiest girl in the world married to one of the ugliest men."

"You are beautiful inside, where it counts, my hero," Fleur said to Bill, and she kissed him. She turned to Victoire and said, "Your father gave me my life back. I do not think I ever told you the story. Sit down. It is time."

"Why?" Victoire asked as she and Teddy sat down.

Fleur said, "My last year at Beauxbatons I was raped, publicly, in front of a small crowd. I was abused and humiliated. I filed charges, and the SOB had to pay a dowry price as a fine, like I was a piece of meat that could be purchased. I was angry and humiliated. I thought I was ruined, and that no self-respecting wizard would ever want someone as ruined as I was. My boyfriend at the time did not know how to handle it. I fled to England, but hid my shameful secret. I went out on a few dates, but I was always too angry and ashamed to want to go out with a boy a second time."

Harry and Ginny knew the story, but Victoire and Teddy were horrified.

'Oh Mum," Victoire said. "I had no idea."

"It is not exactly something you tell a young child," Fleur said. "Then I met your father. He was so patient with me. He let me rage. He let me tell him just how I felt. He let me cry, and eventually, one night, I cried and cried and cried, and he cried with me, and something broke, or healed, and I saw that I could be loved again. I saw that I could love that amazing man who listened to me, and loved me, and didn't judge me."

Fleur was crying now. "The face, that's a little thing. Your Daddy, Victoire, your Daddy gave me back my LIFE."

By this time everyone was crying. "I've made you ruin your makeup," Fleur said. "We had better go to the ladies room and fix up Teddy's beautiful girlfriend."

"I'll help you, Aunt Ginny," Victoire said. Ginny's house elf was not with her, and she was still unsteady on her feet. Together the three women left for the ladies room, Victoire helping her Aunt Ginny with her balance.

"She is always so nice, so helpful," Teddy said, as he watched Victoire helping Ginny.

"I'm still Uncle Bill, Teddy," Bill said. "Is it different when she is your girlfriend?"

Teddy's hair color changed to the 'I am really embarrassed' shade, and he nodded yes.

Bill said, "She is only fourteen. Keep your pants on. I know she wants to have your babies, but we don't want any babies until after you are married, I hope nine months after you are married."

Harry said, "You do not get overseas Auror assignments if you are married, OR if you have a child."

"Don't start, or you will not be able to stop," said Bill. "And don't even think of asking me about birth control before you are married. I'd throw you out of the house. Ask Uncle Harry."

"Thanks, Bill," said Harry. Harry was not looking forward to Teddy being an undercover Auror. He sure was not looking forward to teaching him about birth control before Teddy and Victoire were at least engaged.

Teddy sat there with Bill and Harry waiting for the girls to come back.

Meanwhile the Fleur, Victoire and Ginny had arrived at the ladies room.

Ginny sat down and started to fix her makeup, and listened to Fleur and Victoire.

"How did this happen, you and Teddy?" asked Fleur.

"It really was Rose Sprout," said Victoire. "She told Teddy that lots of boys wanted to date me, and lots of girls wanted to date him, and if we were not dating each other, it was past time to go to the Christmas Ball with other dates and announce that we were available.

"I think Teddy thought about it overnight, but he said it just didn't work. Except that he is worried about how long I will have to wait, and he is worried that he will get a dangerous assignment, not that he doesn't want one, but he is worried what that will do to me, to us.

"You heard what I told him, Mummy. I will wait for my Teddy."

Fleur looked at Victoire's dress. "You are showing a lot of bust."

"I have a lot of bust," Victoire said, pointing out the obvious. "It's not like Teddy doesn't see more of me when we are at the beaches in France." Victoire was obviously a little embarrassed, but she was not about to change the way she was dressed.

Fleur said. "I want a wedding before grandchildren, and not a last minute wedding. I like Teddy, but I would hope you would graduate from Hogwarts a virgin."

"Teddy said the same thing, Maman" Victoire said. "He said the alternative was to ask you and Daddy about birth control, and he could not see doing that."

"I cannot imagine Teddy asking your Daddy about birth control, so he can bed Daddy's oldest daughter," Fleur said.

"I'll just ask Aunt Ginny," Victoire said, trying unsuccessfully to imitate a Ginny Potter smirk. When she saw the expression on the faces of her mother and aunt the grin was gone.

"You are fourteen, Torie. Keep your knickers on," said Ginny.

Victoire said, "Do Dominique and Louis know about you getting … Oh Maman, it must have been so horrible. Do they know?"

"I do not think so. We will have to tell them over Christmas break," Fleur said.

The three women went back to the table where Bill, Harry and Teddy were sitting. People were still coming in, and the music had not started.

"I think you can join your friends, Teddy, Victoire," Ginny said. "Us old people will just watch you, and gossip about you."

As Teddy and Victoire went over to see their friends, Victoire had the biggest victory smile.

Rose Sprout spotted them, and, pulling her date Robert Coote along, joined the group. "Did you tell your parents that you are officially dating, and not just 'sort of' cousins?" Rose asked.

"Yes!" Victoire exclaimed. "I think they approve."

"What else did they tell you, Torie?" Rose asked. "I could tell you were a little embarrassed about something."

Victoire whispered, "Keep my knickers on." She looked at Teddy, who was, Victoire could tell, very embarrassed, and trying to hide it.

Teddy said, "Same thing, pretty much."

"Let's dance," said Victoire as the music started. Once they were together on the dance floor she said, "I didn't want Rose to ask any more questions. I really don't mind that she knows we are exclusively dating, though."

Teddy didn't say much, but just basked in the joy of being with this exuberant, sexy female.

It was a good evening for both of them, even though Teddy kept his boxers on, and Victoire kept her knickers on.


End file.
